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ECE481
Fall 2021
M1: IC Technology
Lecture 2
ICs Cost & Scaling
DiaaEldin Khalil
Ain Shams University
Integrated Circuits Laboratory
Outline
Fall 2021 1
Cost of Integrated Circuits
Individual die
Variable Cost
Total Cost Fixed Cost Variable Cost
Fixed Cost Variable Cost
Chip Total Cost
Volume
Fixed Cost
Chip Variable Cost
Volume Wafer
Die Cost Chip Packaging Cost Chip Testing Cost
Chip Variable Cost
Final Test Yield
Wafer Cost Good Dies per Wafer
Die Cost Die Yield 100%
Dies per Wafer Die Yield Dies per Wafer
Good Chips after Packaging & Testing
Final Test Yield 100%
Good Dies before Packaging & Testing
Wafer cost is fixed per fabrication technology
Die cost depends on the number of dies on a wafer.
Increasing die area means fewer dies per wafer and higher cost.
D. Khalil ECE481 – M1 Lecture 2 4
Fall 2021 2
Dies per Wafer
wafer wafer
large die area small die area
defects per unit area die area
Statistical Equation Die Yield 1
a is “cluster factor” related to defects distribution (typically ranges from 0.5
for extreme process control to 4.2 for bad process control, and the value
2.6 is commonly used as average).
Wafer Cost
Overall die area dependence Die Cost
Dies per Wafer Die Yield
die cost (die area)3.6 area 1 area
2.6
Fall 2021 3
Outline
Metal1 Pitch
Gate Pitch
Fall 2021 4
Full Scaling – Constant Electric Field
All dimensions & supply/threshold voltages are scaled equally.
Keeping E constant avoids breakdown and other secondary effects.
• Lateral and vertical dimensions (W, L, Tox): 0.7
• Power supply VDD (constant electric field = VDD/Tox): 0.7
• : W/(LTox) = 1.43
• Saturation Current (long-channel) IDS (VDD-VT)2 = 0.7
• Saturation Current (short-channel) IDS: (W/Tox )(VDD-VT) = 0.7
• Driving Resistance RDRV: VDD/IDS = 1
• Gate Capacitance CG : WL/Tox= 0.7
• Delay : RDRVCG = 0.7 (Delay scales down linearly)
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Fall 2021 5
Moore’s Law
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Electronics (1965)
• In 1965, Gordon Moore,
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• Now 0.7x scaling is faced by
more challenges to create a
transistor with good performance.
• Hence, Moore’s law slowed down
to every 1.5 or 2 years.
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Moore’s Law
• Hence, ICs become more powerful and efficient as they get scaled.
This isn’t true for other industries.
This unusual mixture: smaller = faster = more powerful = cheaper,
is what sets ICs apart from any revolutionary technology in the
history of the world.
• Moore’s law was a driving force to the ICs industry. All efforts
collaborated to keep up the trend and benefits.
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Fall 2021 6
Moore’s Law & Chip Cost
• Wafer cost is growing due to fabrication complexity.
However, Scaling causes cost per transistor/gate/function to drop
exponentially.
• Die area/cost can correspondingly drop exponentially.
However, market demands add more functionality and complexity
in an exponential trend such that die area remains almost constant
and die cost slightly increases.
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Fall 2021 7
Moore’s Law Example
,
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Scaling Example
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Fall 2021 8
Scaling Example
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Outline
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Fall 2021 9
CMOS Scaling Limits & Future Trends
• CMOS scaling in deep-submicron dimensions have always faced
issues related to optical limitations, transistor limitations, wire
limitations, power limitations, …
• However, innovation and creative thinking had always helped
overcome the issues and limitations.
• Scientists predicted for several times that scaling will come to an
end. However, CMOS scaling continues!
• Latest prediction is that CMOS scaling will hit a fundamental
quantum mechanics limit at 3.8nm by Nikonov & Bourianoff 2008.
• Huge research is done to explore ways to go beyond CMOS
scaling limits, as well as, alternative devices, wires, and
technologies.
• However, even when scaling stops, CMOS technology and ICs
industry will never stop, as innovation will shift more to circuit
design, automation, applications, and services.
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Wafer
D. Khalil ECE481 – M1 Lecture 2 20
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Fall 2021 10
Optical Scaling Limits
Target
350nm
Without OPC
D. Khalil ECE481 – M1 Lecture 2 21
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Target
90nm
Without OPC
D. Khalil ECE481 – M1 Lecture 2 22
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Fall 2021 11
Optical Proximity Correction (OPC)
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Phase-Shift Masks
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Fall 2021 12
Multiple Patterning
• At some point, no way close & thin lines can be created due to
light diffraction. A solution is to split mask into two masks, each
with double pitch density (Pitch-splitting or Double-patterning).
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Fall 2021 13
Transistor Scaling Limits
• The smallest transistor demonstrated in a lab so far is 3nm all-
around-gate fin-FET.
• Smaller Fin-FET is reaching atomic quantum mechanics limits.
• Significant research is conducted in CMOS compatible carbon-
nanotubes and graphene based transistors, as well as, non-
CMOS compatible molecular transistors.
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Fall 2021 14
Power & Power Density Limits
• Power is a key limit for any device. It affects temperature, heat
dissipation solution, battery life and size.
• It is until Intel’s Pentium 4 (P7) that power started to be a key
performance parameter. With the spread of mobile devices, power
is now the most important performance parameter.
• As transistors scales,
Pentium 4
power increases (non- Pentium 2,3
ideal scaling). In addition,
leakage increases
exponentially.
• Great effort is done
to improve transistor
to use less power and
have less leakage,
most important is SOI
and high-K metal gate.
D. Khalil ECE481 – M1 Lecture 2 29
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Fall 2021 15
Design Productivity Limits
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References
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Fall 2021 16